Oil burner



July 6, 1,943. F. RAvNsBEcK 2,323,567

OIL BURNER Filed Sept. 27, 1940 Patented July 5, 1943 OL BURNER FredRavnsbeck, Chicago,

Co., Chicago, illl., 'a `corporaticn of Engineering illinois ApplicationSeptember 27,

lll., assigner to Ace i940, Serial No. 358,574

i claim. rc1. 15s-77) This invention relates to the control of liquid ina conduit through which it normally ows in horizontal direction and inwhich the iiow is occasionally shut on. The invention is particularlyconcerned with means 'for wholly checking the i'iow when it isintentionally stopped so as to prevent the dripping of the liquid fromthe outlet end of the conduit.

One object of the invention is to provide means in a horizontal conduitwhich will permit the flow of liquid therethrough at any time undermoderate pressure but will act to check such ow when the pressure is cuto.

yAnother object is to provide a form of dam for a horizontal flowpassage which is adapted, without adjustment, to check the rlow oiliquid to the passage when substantially no pressure is applied thereto.

lt is also an object oi the invention to provide means to be tted into arotatable horizontal conduit for checking the flow of liquidtherethrough when the conduit is at rest and no pressure is applied tothe liquid.

More specifically, the invention is shown and described as applied to anoil burner in which the iuel oil is fed to the point or combustionthrough a horizontal conduit which is in a rotating member, and theobject oi the invention is to provide a dam in the bore oi the sha-itwhich prevents the dripping or oil therefrom when thepressure is shutoff and the shaft is not rotating.

Other objects and advantages will `appear as the description proceeds.The invention consists in certain features and elements of con structionin combination, as herein shown and 3 described and as indicated by theclaim.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a vertical axial section of a portion ol an oil burnershowing this invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an axial sectional view of the oil reed conduit of the oilburner taken on a larger scale.

For illustrating one application or this tion the drawing shows aportion of an oil ce having a housing I in which there is journaled ashaft 2 which is hollow so as to serve as a con duit lfor feeding oil tothe pointJ of combustion. The shaft is rotated by a motor, not shown,and within the housing l the shaft carries the rotor 3 of a centrifugalair pump or biower having outwardly extending passages l for the air.Air which is thus discharged under pressure travels between the vanes 5toward the central portion of the housing and is ed from an annularoriflee 6 which surrounds the iiare-d outlet 'i secured to the end ofthe horizontal shaft 2. rlhus the oil which is fed 'through the shaft 2is ythrown outwardly by centrifugal force at the cuter end of the part 1and is then intermingled with the air issuing from the annular openingil. Suitable pumping means, not shown, serves to feed the oil throughthe horizontal bore of the shaft 2, but when the apparatus is shut down,as occurs frequently in the operation of an automatic oil burner underthermostatic control, the pumping means ceases to operate and in somecases an automatic valve is employed to insure that the flow of oilthrough the hollow shalt 2 shall stop. At the same time, the blowerceases to discharge air under pressure at the opening S and combustionis temporarily arrested. However, since there is always a small quantityof oil left in the flow passage through the shaft 2, if this passage iseven slightly inclined toward the outlet end, such oil will graduallyflow into the flared terminal l and will tend to drip therefrom onto theheated surfaces of the combustion chamber where it may not burn but willcreate smoke and cause a disagreeable odor. This is one situation inwhich it is desirable to wholly arrest the flow of liquid in ahorizontal conduit when the pressure has been shut oli.

In the structure illustrated the outlet end of the hollow shaft 2 hasits bore 2a fitted with a twisted strip of nat stock, shown at 8, and,preferably, this is simply a parallel-sided strip of steel or othermetal twisted so that its oppositely helical edges 8a and 8b t snuglyagainst the cylindrical wall of the bore in the shaft 2. Thus a drop ofliquid owing along the bottom of this cylindrical wall 2a will beretarded by the oblique.. ly trending, warped surfaces of the twistedmember 8, and will be deflected thereby. Bui; if the axis of the bore 2ais substantially level, and there is no pressure behind the liquid toadvance it, the drop or other small quantity thus arriving at thetwisted member 8 will be unable to climb along the inclined edge 0f thismember which follows a helical course around the surface of the bore 2a.Hence, the member 8 will act as a dam to hold back any smallaccumulation of liquid in the bore 2a until pressure is applied or theshaft 2 begins to rotate.

Preferably, the member 8 is twisted in a direction such that it will actas a feed screw to assist the advance of liquid in the bore of the shafttoward the outlet when the shaft 2 is rotated in its normal direction;it will be understood that the pressure of the pumping means, not shown,is relied upon for feeding oil to the point of comwhen its flow is shutoff at some distance back from the outlet. It will also be recognizedthat the twisted or volute strip Will not necessarily have both itsedges in contact with the cylindriow passage, although that arrangement,as illustrated in the drawing, is perhaps the simplest to manufactureand the most eiective for the purpose. Thus it will be manifest to thoseskilled in the art that various modications and rearrangements of thestructure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, and that the same is not limited to the particular formherein shown In an oil burner said strip being twisted in a direction tofacilitate the i'low of liquid through the bore toward the outlet whenthe member is rotated in the said predetermined direction, and saidstrip constituting the sole obstruction in the passage.

FRED RAVNSBECK.

